


The Bad Boy and The Nerd [Discontinued]

by spunkyghost



Category: Star vs. The Forces Of Evil
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Marco and Star are sophomores, My First Fanfic go easy on my poor soul, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change, Supportive Star, Tom and Marco get along well it's cute, Tom's a Junior, awkward kisses, let's pretend that they live somewhere where it snows and stuff, ooc marco sort of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-11
Updated: 2015-10-28
Packaged: 2018-04-20 04:43:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4773965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spunkyghost/pseuds/spunkyghost
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Marco first met Tom, he had to admit he was pretty iffy about him. His pierced ears, tattoos of flames that ran along his left bicep, and a scar that went across his forehead didn't exactly make him seem like the nicest of people. The fact that he had a slight, well not so slight, temper problem didn't make it any better either. Though, ever since the blonde forced the two to get along, he came to discover that you can't judge a person by their looks and that maybe Tom isn't such a bad guy after all.</p><p>kiss kiss fall in love, Marco</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the first fic I've ever written in my life. Go easy on me. :'D

Marco sat in the classroom quietly taking notes from the board while glancing towards the window a seat away. He was expecting to see a certain fellow again today since he promised to make his usual appearance after school ended. The brunette looked up at the ticking clock.

 _Fifteen more minutes_ , he thought to himself. Fifteen more minutes until he met up with Tom again.

Marco tried to remember the first time he actually met the guy, Tom, Star's ex-boyfriend. It happened not too long ago after he strode in onto their school grounds, his arms open for an embrace as he asked the blonde if she would accompany him to his school's homecoming dance. She, of course, went but in the end it didn't work out so well and the two never got back together. Marco and Tom weren't on good terms either at first, but after a few fights (mostly won by Tom) Star decided she had enough and forced the two to become friends. It worked out in the end. They're practically known as the nerd and bad boy duo at this point by their group of friends.

He didn't realize how deep in thought he was until the final bell rang, signalling the teens it was time to go home. The sophomore scrambled to get his things together and rushed out the door, excited to see the raven-haired Junior.

Before he got the chance to bolt through the exit, a pair of hands playfully grabbed onto his shoulders and stopped him. "Where you goin' in such a rush, Marco?" A familiar voice asked him.

He turned around to see his best friend smiling gleefully at him. "O-Oh, hey Star." The brunette answered back with a warm grin. "I'm just heading to uh, karate practice."

Star snorted and waved her hand in dismissal. "Don't even start with that, Marco. I know for a fact you don't have a class today." She let go of his shoulders and placed a hand on her chin, looking up and down at the boy with squinted eyes, it was clear to her that Marco was acting rather strange. "You're dressed nicer than usual too... Are you perhaps-"

“W-well I gotta go!” He quickly interrupted her and slung his bag over his shoulder. He then proceeded to quickly run towards the opened doors. “I’ll talk to you later, Star!”

The girl was left standing there awkwardly, her mouth agape as she tried to form words to reply. She was about to reach out and run after him but was soon stopped by her crowd of friends that swarmed towards her afterwards. Star pouted to herself and attempted to listen to what her classmates were gossiping about this time, but the thought of Marco keeping something from her made her uneasy. She _was_ his best friend after all. What could he possibly be hiding that he didn’t want to tell her?

* * *

Marco huffed and huffed until he finally reached his destination--Amethyst Arcade. It had been a place where he begged Star and her friend, Pony Girl (as he liked to call her), to take him after hearing their brief conversation about it. The place just sort of stuck to him afterwards and became a casual hangout whenever he’d finish his homework early or had nothing better to do. Hardly any of his classmates ever bothered to visit the joint since it was said only “squares” hung around in such a facility. Now, it became a meeting ground for him and Tom on Thursdays every week.

Upon approaching he saw Tom’s motorcycle. It was a deep black, slick bike with personal touches of red flames running along the edges. He called it his “chariot” to which Marco would tease him for it whenever he got the chance. He forgot how much of a dork Tom could be.

Ah, he must be inside waiting for me then. Marco thought to himself.

He walked swiftly towards the door and with one hand, slowly pushed it open. The smell of pizza and sweat mixed together in the air and brushed against his face. It wasn’t the most pleasant scent out there but, with time, he found himself used to the odor.

Marco looked around the arcade standing on his tippy toes for a better view. He’d try to call out but the constant noise created by the machines made it difficult to hear anything without shouting into another’s ear. He was about to walk towards the left section when he heard a loud holler.

“Are you kidding me?! This thing is frickin’ rigged, I totally had that one!”

The boy chuckled and strode over to where the bellowing came from. There, he found Tom angrily resting his chin on his hand while the other one lay clenched in a fist. His face was scrunched up in a sort of a pouty look with brows furrowed and mouth turned downwards into a deep frown. The ‘Game Over’ screen was still lit from Tom’s failed attempt of playing Pacman. He shifted his position to sit upright, but the sudden movement made the quarters stacked on top of the control panel tumble down. The raven-haired teen muttered a curse to himself as he bent down to pick them up. Right then, he met eyes with Marco and instantly grinned.

“There you are! I was afraid you weren’t gonna turn up like last time. I was seriously hurt, y’know?” Tom said laughing softly while snatching the coins up from off the ground and stuffing them into his pockets. 

“Well if you had read my text from last time you would’ve known that I had a test to study for,” Marco replied, rolling his eyes.

“Woah, for real? That was probably after I broke my phone then, huh.”

“You broke your phone again?! That’s like the third one this year. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It was just a minor accident-ish I swear. And I _was_ planning on telling you when we met up at the arcade at our usual time but a certain _someone_ didn’t show up.”

They both crossed their arms and stared into each other’s eyes intensely, frowning with a serious look plastered on their faces. It wasn’t long before a grin formed on Marco’s lips and they both started laughing. Tom pulled Marco close and ruffled his hair playfully. The brunette’s face turned a light shade of red at the sudden closeness.

 _Oh god. Oh god. Oh god. Oh god. Oh god._ The words kept repeating in his head over and over and clouded his mind.

“How cruel,” he whispered softly to himself, still in Tom’s embrace. How dare the universe make that tall, tan, lean, attractive friend of his be such a huggy person. Was this a way to test his feelings? What cruel higher up being would put someone in that position of being that close with their crush? How dare…

“Come on, Marco Polo. Let’s play Street Fighter over there. Don’t worry about quarters man, it’s on me.” Tom nudged and winked at the small sophomore before taking the boy’s backpack from off his shoulders. “Here, I can carry this for you--Oh god you must have like five textbooks in here! Jeez, how is your back not hurting at all?”

Marco stood there and blinked, watching his raven-haired friend take his things and walk over to the other section of the arcade. The universe may be cruel, but he had to admit he was pretty glad that fate had him meet the guy at least.

“Hey! Wait for me!” He called after him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't write late at night, folks. Especially if you have school the next day. B')
> 
> Grammar edits will be made tomorrow after school. I got too excited and posted it without properly checking.
> 
> If you're curious as to what Tom looks like as a human, I imagined him to look like this http://y-annah.tumblr.com/post/125886881984/nerdy-safety-kid-marco-having-a-thing-for-local
> 
> This fic was inspired by the person on Tumbles who requested a drawing from me of nerdy!Marco and Badboy!Tom.


	2. Chapter 2

After a few hours of gaming along with frustrated snarls and tears, the two students left the arcade. The auburn sky soon turned to night, leading them to remember they both forgot about curfew. Tom turned to brunette and offered him a ride home on his motorcycle to which, with numerous flustered nods,he happily agreed to.

Marco shivered slightly at the cool night breeze and cursed at himself for not bringing a jacket. After all, the summer heat was coming to an end to be replaced by the frigid air of autumn. The school days all seemed to fly right past him now that his life was filled with more excitement.

Tom noticed him quivering and quickly took off his hoodie, placing it on the smaller one's shoulders. The sophomore smiled and nodded in gratitude as he slipped his arms into the sleeves. He took a moment staring down at the coat and found himself grinning over how large it appeared on his body. Marco then hopped onto the revved up bike after Tom and they both took off into the starry night.

It wasn't until after a moment that Tom started to chuckle. "You know, if you don't hold onto me tighter you're gonna end up falling off and hurting that pretty face o' yours, haha. But in all seriousness, Star would definitely kill me if that happened. So hold on tighter okay? I won't mind."

Marco said a silent “yes” in response and tightened his grip around the Junior's waist. His stomach churned and fluttered around. He could feel the tip of his ears redden and his face heat up out of embarrassment. Marco was glad that Tom couldn't see his face, otherwise if he did it would've been a dead give away. _I wonder if he could feel how fast my heart is pounding_ , he thought, hugging him closer.

Before he knew it, they soon arrived safely at Marco's house. A feeling of disappointment circled around in him knowing that he’d have to wait yet another week to hang out with Tom again. He waited until they were pulled into his driveway before he hopped off Tom's motorcycle.

"Thanks uh, for bringing me home, Tom. I didn't realize it got so late, hehe." Marco awkwardly said, scratching the back of his head and fumbling with his backpack straps. "Sorry for the inconvenience though."

"It's no problem, Marco Polo. If you ever need a ride don't be afraid to hit me up!" Tom raised his hand to tousle Marco's hair and then rested his hand on his jacket. "Oh and don't worry about this old thing either. Just hand it back to me when me meet up next week, yeah?"

The brunette nodded in reply and headed up towards his door. Grabbing his keys from his bag, he looked back at Tom and gave one last goodbye wave before unlocking the door and heading in. Once inside, he heard the motor run and the hum of the bike. He watched as the junior took off into the night and sighed happily.

Marco walked up the stairs, his mind still lingering on with the date he had with Tom. Well, it wasn't exactly a date, he had to admit. But the past few Thursdays with him sure as hell felt like one.

He grabbed onto his bedroom doorknob and twisted it slowly. To his surprise, he found Star sitting on his bed, a grin sprawled across her face.

"So, where have YOU been, Marco?" She asked him, giggling slightly.

"Uh, I was at the library s-studying." He stuttered out in response.

She got up from off the bed and circled around him. "Then why did I hear a motorcycle out front? From what I can tell, there's only one person you befriended that actually has one. A certain someone, someone." Star nudged his arm playfully and snickered.

"Star, I swear it's not-"

"Oh just cut the act already Marco and tell me about your secret dates with Tom!" She squealed with joy and shook him back and forth excitedly. "I gotta know!"

 "Well, I wouldn't _exactly_ call it a date. We're just hanging out as buds, y'know? L-like normal guy stuff! I-it's not like a have a crush on him or anything. I can't believe you'd even try to assume that I did. And now if you'll excuse me I have some homework to do." He strode across the room to set his bag down by his desk but was stopped halfway after a manicured hand grabbed onto the collar of the jacket.

"You can't fool me, _Marco Polo._  Whenever you text Tom you've always got this one look on your face when you've got it bad for someone. Remember when you had a crush on Jackie Lynn Thomas? You always made the exact same face!" She declared. "And I do believe I've seen this jacket before. It's Tom's right? I peaked at you from upstairs and I saw you staring happily at it. Your cheeks were pinker than a tomato, Marco!"

"Star, tomatoes aren't pi-"

"That's not my point. My point is is that you totally got the hots for him!"

"Ugh, alright already! Fine! I have a massive crush on him, okay? Is that what you wanted to hear?!" Marco, flustered, flopped onto his bed and yelled into his pillow, his voice cracking slightly. Star smiled and laughed slightly. She walked over to his mattress and sat beside him, putting her hand on his back, she patted it softly.

"Heh, yeah. But don't keep secrets like this from me, okay? I'm your best friend. I want to know about every little thing that's going on in your life. Like if you were to ever accidentally walk into a post or barf because you drank a gallon of spoiled milk."

"That's gross, Star." Marco interrupted, his voice muffled by the pillow.

"Still! I want you to be able to tell me these sort of things. I'll be here for you, y'know." She suddenly gasped loudly and bounced excitedly in place. "I can be your wing woman! I can totally get you two together!" The brunette groaned in response, earning another giggle from the blonde. "Alright, alright I'll let you handle this yourself. You've got my word."

"Thank you," Marco replied happily.

"Ah, but..." She leaned in and whispered something in his ear causing his entire face to redden madly. "Ahahaha! I was kidding! Kidding!"

"W-why I would never!" He picked up a pillow and whacked her playfully on the head with it. She went down on all fours in a childish manner and skittered away, snickering mischievously. 

* * *

 Later that night, he got a text from an unknown number.

**From: Unknown Number-11:34 p.m.**

_"hey this is tom! i'm using my mom's phone rn so i can text you til i get a new one."_ Oh, that made more sense. It would explain why someone messaged him at this late, then.

**Me:** **11:35 p.m.**

_"Oh, alright! I guess I'll set this number as you for now in the meantime then."_

**From: Tom-ato Juice 11:37 p.m.**

_"i'll leave you be for the rest of tonight. it's sorta late and i didn't really expect you to respond tbh. so get some sleep! i'll see you next week, nerd."_

**Me: 11:38 p.m.**

_"I'm looking forward to it! And sleep tight, Tom."_

**From: Tom-ato Juice 11:37 p.m.**

_":3 night"_

 Marco stared down at the texts and grinned softly. He tiredly wiped his eyes and trudged off to bed, deciding he had studied enough for the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd have to thank my sister for Tom's new contact name. My first choice was "Peeping Tom" but after googling the definition again as a clarification it came to me that I probably shouldn't omg.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally at three chapters in I'd just like to say that both Tom and Marco maybe a bit ooc and that's my b. I'll try to do my best and make them in character as possible!! O:

The next day Marco sat dreamily in the lunchroom, his head seemingly lost in the clouds and a goofy smile spread across his face. He sighed happily while his other friends stared dumbfounded and confused at his weird behaviour.

"Uh...What's up with Marco?" Ferguson questioned, taking a giant bite of the brunette's untouched sandwich.

"I don't know. He seems much happier than usual." Alfonzo sipped his drink and tried to get his attention by poking Marco’s cheek numerous times.

"That's cause he's in looooove," interrupted Star who appeared out of nowhere causing all but Marco to shriek out of shock. “Well, he’s sorta been in love for a looong time but he’s finally accepted it I guess.” She shrugged.

His two other best friends looked at each other and then proceeded to inch closer to the blonde to hear the full story. The girl went on and on about what happened and her early suspicions, but she decided to leave out who exactly the little sophomore was crushing on. Once she was finished, they all grinned happily at one another and then at Marco, who finally snapped out of his daydream.

"W-what? What's up?" He asked confused.

"Oh, nothing." Marco rolled his eyes at them all who dismissed his question in unison with the burst of giggle fit. Although he didn't pay attention to what they were talking about, he could tell it probably involved him and Tom. The only thing he could do was lightly punch Star on the arm and allow his face to turn a shade of pink.

The weekend passed by much slower than he anticipated. Since he managed to finish nearly all his homework, there really wasn't anything that was left to do on his list besides maybe hanging out with a couple of friends, but he wasn't really up for it at the current moment.

Marco turned on his phone and hummed as he scrolled through his contacts, his finger instinctively landed on Tom's. He took a moment staring at his contact picture, which was set to one of a cinnamon roll on fire. It was the junior's idea but Marco didn't really want to hear the explanation of his choice on avatars.

Coincidentally, a sudden ring began to pour out of the phone. The brunette ended up fumbling and dropping it due to the unexpected call and was rather shocked to see that it was Tom. He hurriedly answered the call and held it up to his ear.

"Uh...Hey Tom! What'cha calling for? I thought you had work today?" Tom chuckled over the line and Marco was sure that he could just melt over the sound of his soft laughter.

"Nah. It turns out the shop's closed today because the owner's going through some personal business right now that I probably shouldn't mention. So do you wanna hang out maybe? I have something I wanna show you." Marco hesitated at first but then agreed with a stuttered yes. "Great! Meet me at my place then. I'll text you the directions but it's sorta far, so I don't know if you wanna take the bus or something. I'll see you there!"

Tom hung up shortly after and Marco let out a breath he didn't know he was holding in. Tom had just invited him over to his house. His CRUSH had just invited him over to his house. He could feel his face heat up with thoughts of spending time with him, hopefully alone. Possibly and hopefully doing things like cuddling and watching movies. That's probably not what Tom was planning for the evening but hey, a guy can dream, right?

Sure enough, Marco's screen lit up indicating that Tom sent him that text he was talking about. He looked towards his closet and pondered about what he should wear. He's sure that Tom wouldn't really notice nor care but he still wanted to look nice for his next self proclaimed date.

* * *

 

Tom patiently sat on the couch picking a loose thread on his sleeve. He felt sort of giddy inside. Maybe it was because Marco was coming over or perhaps it was because he got a new pet. (Even if it had been given to him to soothe his anger he was still pretty happy he was bought one.)

The raven looked down onto his watch and found himself counting away the seconds until his friend’s expected arrival. He couldn’t really remember the last time he ever had someone over. It felt like ages. Centuries even.

knock, knock, knock

“I’ll be there in a sec!” Tom shouted at the door, slipping on his jacket that was carelessly dropped on the floor before. “That must be Marco...Act cool, Tom, you gotta act cool.”

With a dazzling grin that he had rehearsed way too many times in front of the mirror, he opened with door swiftly but was utterly disappointed with what stood there instead.

It was a plate of nachos.

“Oh…It’s just…” The raven breathed out, picking up the dish and feeling slightly embarrassed. He looked at the front step once more and saw that there was a note on the ground. Tom carefully picked it up and read the card that was heavily decorated with stickers and written in purple, glittery ink.

 

_hey, since you and i both know you’re not too good a cook, here’s some snacks i had whipped up with the help of a mom-friend. it’s a certain someone’s favorite food ;)_

_sincerely,_

_~~star~~ anonymous_

 

Tom chuckled and shoved the note in his pocket, still balancing the plate in his hands. He looked towards the bushes in the distance and with his free hand, he cupped it around his mouth and shouted. “Thanks for the snacks, Star!”

A single manicured hand shot up from the bushes, first moving side-to-side in a waving motion and then changing to a thumbs up.

He smiled once more before going inside and promptly closing the door behind him. With a sigh escaping his lips, the raven made his way to the kitchen where he gently set down the snacks. He took a seat and sat down, arms and legs crossed, leg tapping slowly on the tiled floor. After a while he checked his watch once more and frowned slightly.

“Ten minutes...You’re almost never this late, Marco Polo.” Tom spoke to himself. Just at that moment he felt his phone in his jeans vibrate and was pleased to see it was the brunnette himself texting him.

 

**From: marco polo 4:41 p.m.**

_“Sorry that I’m sort of late. The bus dropped me off somewhere weird and I’m sorta just running around frantically at this point.”_

**From: Me 4:42 p.m.**

_“it’s alright!! you’re only like ten minutes late anyway haha”_

**From: Me 4:42 p.m.**

_“do you want me to come find you??? i’m pretty sure you cant be too far”_

**From: marco polo 4:45 p.m.**

_“No! It’s alright, I think I can find your house by myself. :)”_

**From: marco polo 4:46 p.m.**

_“Can you maybe wait outside though? That might make it easier for me. Thanks!”_

  


Another good five minutes passed before Tom saw the little nerd jogging up the sidewalk, clearly exhausted. Still, he managed to give him a happy smile and greet him with a little wave. The junior immediately ran over to his side and practically pulled him into his house.

“Next time I invite you over, I swear I’m gonna drive you here. Sorry about that Mar-mar.” He instinctively put his arm around the smaller and held him close. “Dude, you feel super cold right now I’m really sorry-”

“Tom I didn’t know you lived in such a big home,” He laughed softly, teeth still chattering. “It’s my fault, too. I should’ve worn something warmer instead of going out like this. And it’s alright, don’t worry.”

“But-”

“Don’t worry, Tom. It’s all good.”

Although still feeling slightly guilty, the raven didn’t say anymore. Instead, he took a moment to look at Marco’s outfit.

It was a simple jean shirt with neatly rolled up sleeves and a silver necklace hanging down in front of it. A grey beanie hid a good portion of his dark brown hair and he wore a pair of black skinny jeans and combat boots. His usual thick rimmed glasses still on his face.

Tom had to say, Marco looked exceptionally cute today. He felt sort of embarrassed that he was dressed rather casually.

“Oh, I got nachos by the way!” Tom blurted out. He gestured for the brunnette to follow him into the kitchen. “I think they got a little cold though.”

“Sweet! I love nachos. Thanks, Tom!” Marco happily dug into the cheesy food in front of him. He made sure to chew thoroughly and emptied his mouth before he began to speak again. “So what did you want to show me?”

“Mmm...Wait here.” Tom smiled and left the room. Then, he shortly returned with a mass of fluffy, pink fur cradled in his arms. “I wanted to show him to you.”

Marco visibly gasped and hurried to wash his hands before running over to Tom. “You got a bunny? When?”

“Well, I originally had a stuffed bunny instead but my life coach, Brian, thought that after a while it might be better for me to have a pet bunny. Do you wanna hold him?” The brunette nodded excitedly and took the creature into his arms. Tom watched, grinning, as giggles escaped from the sophomores lips. Man, he really is cute...All smiley and giggling like that. I sorta wanna hug him right now and smooch him on his face-wait what.

“This is the cutest thing I have ever seen in my life.” He said straight-faced yet his eyes seemed to sparkle with joy.

“Really? Bun bun’s like maybe the third cutest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. The second being this one miniature thing I saw while I was shopping at the store. The first one being you-...”

“What?”

"...r chihuahuas! Your chihuahuas are like the number one cutest thing I've ever seen-"

"But Tom you've never been over to my house before. How did you know I have dogs?" Marco interrupted, his face a tad  flushed since he thought for a moment Tom said he was the cutest.

"Oh well, Star sent me pictures of them and sometimes texted me stories. Anyway I rented an old karate movie and I figured you might like it so..." Tom gestured to his living room and smiled awkwardly. "You can wait there for a bit. The DVD is in my room so I sorta need ta get it."

Before Marco could say anything more, Tom quickly left the room and ran up the stairs. He stopped at his door and crouched down, face bright red with embarrassment. "Damn it..."

When he got downstairs, he had the movie case in his hand and waved it to and fro in front of the brunette. "Fooound it."

He headed towards his DVD player, inserted the disk, and proceeded to walk towards the couch. Tom then plopped down on the spot next to Marco and grabbed the remote off the coffee table beside him. He switched on the t.v. and then turned to look at the sophomore, a grin spread across his face.

"It really is a great movie though. I bet you'll love it."

With the lights switched off and the sun already setting, the room soon became dark. As the movie's title slowly appeared on the screen, Tom, out of habit, ended up lightly putting his arm around the younger teen. He didn't mean to of course but if Marco didn't mind he figured it was okay.

Marco on the other hand was screaming internally. Suddenly finding that the other's arm was around his shoulders left his heat beating wildly. He looked over at Tom wondering what exactly he might be thinking at the moment, but he found that his eyes were glued to the screen, clearly enjoying the movie.

_It must only be me feeling this nervous_ , huh? Marco thought to himself as he told his heart to calm down.

About an hour into the movie the brunette felt his eyelids grow heavy. The bunny had long gone hopped off and ventured somewhere else, leaving the two be. He found himself getting drowsier and drowsier and before he knew it, all he heard was the sounds of over dramatic fighting noises.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really not proud of this chapter. I'm posting it anyway though cause I have things to do and this draft has been sitting here for a long time.


End file.
